Digital Print Design: Mastering the Print Production Process (Strand 5)

Print Production

The end-to-end process of turning digital designs into physical printed products.

Prepress

The stage in print production involving planning and file preparation.

Press

The stage of print production where the actual printing takes place.

Postpress

The stage that involves finishing and delivery of the printed product.

Bleed

Extra image or background extending past the trim line to prevent unprinted edges.

Trim Size

The final, finished size of the printed piece after cutting.

Safe Area

An inner margin where important content should be kept to avoid trimming issues.

Imposition

The arrangement of pages on a larger sheet for printing to ensure correct order after cutting.

Registration

The alignment of colors in the printing process.

Raster Image

An image made up of pixels, where PPI measures resolution.

PPI

Pixels per inch; a measure of image resolution for printed images.

Vector Graphics

Graphics that are defined mathematically and can be scaled without loss of quality.

Halftones

Patterns of dots used to simulate continuous tones in printing.

Moiré

An unwanted pattern that appears when scanned halftoned images interfere with the halftone screen.

Rich Black

A mix of CMYK used to create a deeper black for large areas.

Soft Proof

An on-screen simulation of how the printed product will appear.

Hard Proof

A physical print used to predict the final output of a print job.

Job Ticket

A document that communicates the production requirements and specifications for a print job.

Preflight

A systematic check for common issues in a print file before it goes to press.

Saddle Stitching

A binding method where folded sheets are stapled together along the spine.

Perfect Binding

A method of binding where pages are glued at the spine, usually for thicker books.

Trimming Tolerances

Acceptable variations in trim cutting that can affect the final appearance of edges.

Creep

The shift of inner pages in a folded booklet, affecting the appearance of margins.

Color Management

The systematic control of color across devices to ensure consistency.

CMYK

A subtractive color model used in color printing, consisting of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

RGB

An additive color model used for screens, consisting of red, green, and blue.

Spot Color

A premixed color used instead of or in addition to CMYK for consistency and special effects.

Inked Dot Structure

The arrangement and size of ink dots that make up an image in printing.

Overprint

A printing technique where one color is printed over another.

Scoring

Creating a crease line on paper to facilitate clean folding.

Perforation

Creating small cuts to allow for easy tearing of a section from printed material.

Opacity

The measure of how much light can pass through paper, affecting show-through in double-sided printing.

Coated Paper

Paper with a treated surface providing improved ink opacity and sharper images.

Uncoated Paper

Paper without a coating, absorbing more ink, resulting in a warmer, less vibrant appearance.

Finishing

The processes that complete the printed product, such as trimming, folding, and binding.

Cutting

The process of trimming printed sheets to their final size.

Folding

The process of creasing paper to create panels, sections, or booklets.

Quality Control

The practices implemented to verify output at various stages of production, ensuring quality.

Defect Diagnosis

The ability to identify issues in printed materials and linking them to the corresponding process stage.

Packaging

The method of collecting all needed files and assets for a print job into one compiled folder.

Effective Resolution

The actual resolution of an image at the output size, which can change when the size of the image is altered.

Trim Line

The line indicating where the printed piece is to be cut.

Flat Size vs. Finished Size

Flat size refers to the total size of a folded item before it is folded, while finished size refers to the dimensions after folding.

Prepress Operator

The person responsible for checking and preparing files for output before printing.

Press Operator

The person who manages the printing device during the print run.

Finisher

The person responsible for the physical completion of the printed product, including trimming and binding.

Color Cast

An overall tint seen in a print job, usually due to calibration or paper issues.

Banding

Visible stripes in print, indicative of mechanical or calibration issues.

Quality Control Checklist

A tool used to systematically check various aspects of the print job for quality assurance.